


At Last I See The Light

by Freezeurbrain



Category: We Are The Tigers - Allen
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Inspired by Disney, Magic, Magical Elements, Rapunzel Elements, Tangled AU, True Love, Useless Lesbians, kind of?, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26796583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freezeurbrain/pseuds/Freezeurbrain
Summary: When the princess of Corona goes missing, the King and Queen vow to never stop trying to find her. Every year, on her birthday, the kingdom sends hundreds of floating lanterns up into the sky, hoping that one day, the sight of them will lead their lost princess home.Annleigh has spent her entire life inside the confines of a small tower. Despite what her mother’s told her about the outside world being a horrible place, Annleigh can’t help but feel drawn to the mysterious floating lights she sees in the night sky every year on her birthday. When a chance encounter with Cairo Adekoya, a criminal on the run from the law, gives her the opportunity to leave the tower and see these lights for herself, she eagerly takes it.
Relationships: Cairo/Annleigh (We Are The Tigers)
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> y’all please don’t go nuts because I kept the kingdom’s name as Corona (it means “crown” so I thought it fitting)

_This is the story of how I died._

_Don’t worry! This is actually a very fun story. And the truth is, it isn’t even mine. This is the story of a girl. A girl named Annleigh. And it starts with the sun._

_Now, once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens. And from this small drop of sun, there grew a magic golden flower. And it wasn’t just any ordinary flower, either. It was infused with the mystical powers of the sun, which gave it special properties. Namely, it had the power to heal the sick and the injured. Any wound, any illness- even aging could be reversed with the help of this flower. And one day, a young woman happened across this beautiful flower. And she saw an opportunity. You might want to remember her._

_Centuries passed, and a hop, skip, and a boat ride away, there grew a kingdom. And the kingdom, as kingdoms often are, was ruled by a beloved King and Queen. And the Queen of this kingdom was with child. Before the baby was born, however, something awful happened. A sickness swept through the kingdom. Hundreds fell to the virus, which was extremely contagious, and though the royal doctors were working tirelessly, no cure was found. Eventually, the Queen fell ill with the deadly disease. The best doctors were brought in from around the kingdom, and seemingly every cure was tried, but nothing worked. The situation seemed hopeless. It was about the time where people start looking for a miracle. Or, in this case, a magic golden flower._

_There was only one problem with that. Remember that young woman? I told you she’d be important. You see, instead of sharing the sun’s gift, this girl- Riley Williams -hoarded its healing power and used it to keep herself alive for hundreds of years. And all she had to do was sing a special song._

_She hid this flower from the outside world for centuries. It was a wonder how the kingdom even found it. I guess Riley got lazy at some point. Whatever the cause, the kingdom eventually found the flower. They ground it up into an elixir and gave it to the queen, and, just like magic, she was healed. A few days later, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, a princess. I’ll give you a hint- that girl was Annleigh._

_To celebrate her birth, the King and Queen launched a flying lantern into the sky. And for that one moment, everything was perfect._

_But then that moment ended._

_Riley Williams had spent years living off the magic of the flower. She wasn’t about to let it slip out of her fingertips that easily. She figured that, because the queen had drank the ground-up flower before she gave birth, that baby Annleigh must have been gifted with the flower’s magic properties. When she snuck into the baby’s nursery late one night, she found that, when she sang the special incantation, Annleigh’s hair would begin to glow a beautiful golden color. Riley knew what she would need to do if she wanted to keep living forever._

_When the King and Queen woke up, their precious daughter was gone._

_They searched and searched, but they could not find the missing Princess. Meanwhile, deep within the forest, in a hidden tower, Riley raised the child as her own. She had found her new magic flower. And this time, she was determined to keep it hidden._

_In order to keep young Annleigh under her wing, she told her horror stories- that the outside world was a dangerous place, filled with horrible, cruel, and selfish people. But despite all the stories, the walls of that tower couldn’t hide everything. Every year, on Annleigh’s birthday, the kingdom released thousands of lanterns into the sky, in the hope that one day, their lost princess would return._

***

**18 years later**

A tiny green chameleon scampered out onto the windowsill. Its beady little eyes darted around in all directions, searching quickly for a place to hide. At the sounds of footsteps approaching, it quickly pressed itself up against a beautifully painted clay flower pot on the windowsill, closing its eyes as its scales changed color to blend in with the pot perfectly. 

“Ah-hah!” The curtains were flung open, and a cheery female voice filled the air. There was a moment of silence as the owner of the voice looked around before she spoke again. “Well. I guess Pascal isn’t hiding out here...”

As the sound of footsteps faded away, Pascal gave a sigh of relief and a chuckle at having fooled his pursuer. His smug delight didn’t last long, however, before a strand of caramel-brown hair wrapped around its tail and yanked him up into the air.

“Gotcha!” Annleigh smiled, dangling her pet by the makeshift rope she’d just created. 

Pascal gave a scream of surprise, causing his scales to revert back to their original green color. Annleigh laughed at Pascal’s shock before setting him down on the windowsill.

“That’s twenty-two for me...” Annleigh picked up a kitchen knife off the windowsill and scratched a tally mark into the wood- another one of many. Their game had been going on for quite some time. “How about twenty-three out of forty-five?”

Pascal shook his head in response, his little eyes narrowing at the prospect of more hide-and-seek.

“Okay, then.” Annleigh put down the knife and placed her hands on her hips. “What do you want to do, then?”

Pascal perked up and pointed his tail out the window. Annleigh looked out the window and down at the ground, which was seemingly a hundred feet below, and shook her head. “Yeah, I don’t think so. I like it in here, and so do you.” 

Pascal glowered, if it was possible for a chameleon to glower. He was trying to look angry, but all Annleigh could do was find it adorable. 

“Oh, come on, Pascal.” Annleigh picked up the chameleon and placed him on her shoulder. “It’s not so bad in here. We have tons to do.”

The look Pascal gave Annleigh seemed to ask ‘ _Oh yeah? Like what?_ ’

“We could...” Annleigh looked around the tower. “We could clean! How about that, huh? A clean environment is a happy one.”

Pascal gave Annleigh whatever the chameleon equivalent of a raised eyebrow was. They had already cleaned the tower yesterday. And the day before. And the day before _that_ one.

“Okay, I get it, cleaning is out.” Deep in thought, Annleigh bit her lip. “Uh, we could read a book! How about that! I’m sure we have one in there that we haven’t read yet.”

Both Annleigh and Pascal looked towards the bookshelf on the other side of the room. Pascal didn’t even have to make a sarcastic expression- they both knew that they had already read every book on that shelf- some of them twice.

Annleigh wasn’t willing to give in just yet. “Well, we could... um... pick up a new hobby? Like... improv comedy, maybe?”

Pascal gave Annleigh a flat expression. Setting aside the fact that performing improv comedy for an audience of stuffed animals was simply pathetic, in her eighteen years living in the tower, Annleigh had practically picked up every hobby known to man.

“Maybe I could... brush my hair?” Annleigh offered weakly, running her hands through a portion of her long hair. “That’s always at least an hour- oh, who am I kidding?” She let herself fall back into a nearby armchair. “You’re right. There’s nothing to do in here.”

She sighed, letting her eyes travel up the walls of the tower. Over the years, she’d painted practically every square inch of wall space in this tower. Forest scenes, images of the night sky, scenes from fairytales and Greek myths... her walls were a storybook, a patchwork quilt of moments Annleigh had never experienced for herself. 

Suddenly, her eyes fell on a space above the fireplace that was, somehow, unpainted. She looked up at the night sky painted on the ceiling, and an idea came to her.

“That’s it.”

Quicker than Pascal could process, Annleigh jumped up from her seat and ran to grab her painting supplies. As her chameleon friend watched in confusion, Annleigh hoisted herself up on top of the fireplace and began to paint on the blank wall.

At first, she kept it simple, with dark blues and greens. When that was finished, it looked like another forest scene, like the several already painted on the wall. But Annleigh wasn’t just going to make this a regular forest scene. She grabbed a jar of yellow paint and began to add that on top of the forest scene. Then, she grabbed purple, brown, and sienna that was mixed with white. When she finally finished, she was looking at the image of a girl sitting on top of a tree, staring up at a stream of beautiful yellow lights floating off into the night sky. The girl wore a purple satin dress and had long brown hair that trailed down her back, off the top of the tree and down to the ground below. She looked up at the lights with a longing in her eyes. And she was so close to the lights- it looked as though she could reach out and touch them.

“What’s it like out there?” Annleigh turned and looked out the window, her voice so soft it was barely a whisper. 

Pascal gave a squeak of curiosity, looking over at the painting and then back at Annleigh, as if asking for an explanation.

“Tomorrow’s my eighteenth birthday, Pascal.” Annleigh said softly, not taking her eyes off the view she could see from the tower window. “And that means the lights will show up again.”

The lights. Just like the ones in the painting. Every year, for as long as Annleigh could remember, a stream of beautiful floating lights would appear in the night sky on her birthday. Just looking at them filled Annleigh with a sense of yearning. She wanted to go out there and see those lights. She needed to know what they were for. _Who_ they were for. She’d never asked her mother, though- she’d always been too afraid. But now...

“I wonder...” Annleigh looked back at Pascal. “I’m getting older now. Do you think that if I asked Mother, she’d... let me go?”

Pascal gave a shrug. ‘ _Go ahead and ask,_ ’ his face seemed to say. ‘ _What’s the worst that could happen?_ ’ 

Annleigh took one final look out the window, then shut the curtains and turned back inside.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cairo is a dramatic bitch and I love her

The royal castle was supposed to be a place nobody could get into. Guards were stationed at every possible entrance, patrolling nonstop to make sure that the castle grounds remained free of any unsavory characters.

As Cairo Adekoya looked down on said guards from her position on the castle rooftop, she thought about how this place could _really_ use a staff change.

“Look at them.” Cairo mused. “They’re like ants.”

For her insightful remark, Cairo received a flick on the back of her neck. When she turned around, a short young woman with black hair was glaring at her. “Save the bug crap for later. Focus.”

“Excuse me, _Kate_.” Cairo rolled her eyes, rubbing the spot on the back of her neck where Kate had flicked her. She looked over her shoulder at the other young woman with them, this one taller and with long, brown hair held off her face in a braid. “Chess, how much further?”

“We’re close.” Chess said. “Now stop screwing around, both of you.”

“Tell that to Little Miss Bug Lover over here.” Kate glowered, elbowing Cairo in the side. 

“You know, Kate, one day someone is gonna kill you, and I won’t feel sorry for you in the least.” Cairo muttered.

Chess rolled her eyes. “Could you two please focus? I’m not going back to jail because of you idiots. At least wait until we get out of here before you kill each other. Come on. This way.”

With that, Chess turned and leapt up, grabbing onto the lip of a roof across from the one they were currently standing on. With astounding agility, she pulled herself up onto the roof, then gestured for Cairo and Kate to follow her up.

“You first.” Kate turned to Cairo.

Cairo shrugged. “Fine by me.” She jumped up, grabbing the lip of the roof just like Chess had done, and pulled herself up, giving Kate a smug look as she finished. Kate did the same as Cairo, although glowering the entire time.

“Wow.” Cairo looked out at the view laid out before them- the castle was positioned on top of a hill, so there was nothing blocking the panoramic view of dark green mountains, enveloped in mysterious fog, and an ocean that stretched out as far as the eye could see. “I could get used to a view like this.” 

“You have got to be kidding me.” Kate grumbled. 

“Cairo, come on.” Chess said.

“Hold on.” Cairo held up a hand, admiring the view for a few more seconds before stepping back. “Yep. I’m used to it. Guys, I want a castle.” 

Cairo suddenly felt herself being yanked backwards. When she turned around, Kate was glaring at her. 

“We do this job, and you can buy your own castle.” Chess took a coil of rope off of her belt, tying one end around Cairo’s waist and passing the other end to Kate. She pulled up on a panel in the roof, causing it to open up like a trapdoor. “Come on.”

Cairo wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with her life being in Kate’s hands, but she obliged and lowered herself down into the giant atrium. 

Guards were stationed all along the long hallway, and all of them had their backs to Cairo. They were watching the front door, ready to stop anyone who may have tried to enter the atrium through the conventional route. Unfortunately for them, Cairo, Kate, and Chess were anything but conventional.

Suspended by the rope around her waist, Cairo was lowered down until she was hovering right over their target- a beautiful golden tiara, sitting on a velvet pillow atop a pedestal. The guards were still none the wiser as Cairo picked up the crown and inspected it, running her hands over its surface. Chess had been right when she said the craftsmanship was elegant- someone had clearly taken a lot of care with this piece. Small flowers and leaves were carved into the metal, so delicate and lifelike that they looked like they were real. And, of course, it had jewels set in the metal- three beautiful almond-shaped diamonds, surrounded by smaller pink and purple gems that Cairo couldn’t identify. All that combined seemed to suggest that it had been made for someone very important- which meant it probably carried one hefty price tag. 

A guard in front of the pedestal suddenly sneezed, snapping Cairo out of her trance. She knew she shouldn’t say anything, but her sense of humor won over, and she couldn’t resist.

“Hay fever?” She asked.

The guard turned around to look at her and nodded. “Yeah.” It apparently took a moment for the poor sap to register what he was seeing, because he turned around after saying that. A second later, however, he realized. “Wait, what?”

By that time, Cairo was already being pulled up through the opening in the roof. She gave the guard a little wave, making a point of showing the tiara in her hand, before she turned and sprinted away.

“Hey! Wait! Stop!” The guard’s shout echoed out through the open panel in the roof, but his cries fell on deaf ears as Cairo, Kate, and Chess ran.

“Why did you do that?!” Kate snapped. “Are you nuts or something?!”

Cairo chuckled. “Performance, Kate. I have a reputation to uphold.”

“You-“ Kate gave a shout of frustration and looked over at Chess. “Why did you pick _her_?!” 

“She got the crown.” Chess looked over her shoulder at Cairo, now slightly panicked. “You _did_ get the crown, right?”

“Of course I got the crown.” Cairo opened up her satchel, briefly showing Chess and Kate the tiara glittering inside before closing it again. “I’m not an idiot.”

“That’s a topic for debate.” Kate muttered.

Cairo ignored Kate’s snide remark. “Can’t you two just picture me in a castle of my own? I mean, I certainly can.” She laughed. “Oh, the things we’ve seen, and it’s only eight in the morning! Ladies, this is going to be a _very_ big day!”

***

“This is it!” Annleigh closed the lid of her paint box, a grin on her face. “This is a very big day, Pascal!” She giggled. “I’m finally going to do it. I’m going to ask her!”

As if on cue, a woman’s sing-songy voice called up from the ground far below. “Annleigh! Let down your hair.”

Annleigh’s eyes widened. “It’s time!”

Pascal gave a squeak of excitement. 

“I know, I know.” Annleigh nodded, taking Pascal off of her shoulder and placing him on the kitchen counter, where he scampered behind a bowl of fruit. “Don’t let her see you.”

“Annleigh!” The voice called up again. “I’m not getting any younger down here!”

“Coming, mother!” Annleigh called, running to the window. She tossed the end of it over a metal hook protruding from the lip of the roof, letting it fall all the way down to the ground. At the very bottom, Riley smiled slightly, loosely tying the end of her adopted daughter’s hair into a large loop and stepping into it. 

From the top of the tower, Annleigh stepped backwards, pulling her mother upwards with every step she took. After a few minutes, Riley emerged at the top, climbing through the window and into the tower. 

“Hi!” Annleigh smiled, enveloping her mother in a hug. “Welcome home, mother.”

“Oh, Annleigh.” Riley cupped Annleigh’s face in her hands. “How do you manage to do that every single day without fail? It looks absolutely exhausting, darling.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Annleigh shrugged.

“Well, then, I don’t know why it takes so long!” Riley laughed, tapping the end of Annleigh’s nose. “Oh, darling. I’m just teasing.”

“All right.” Annleigh took a deep breath, clasping her hands in front of her. “So, mother. As you know, tomorrow is a very big day-“

“Annleigh, look in that mirror.” Riley cut her daughter off, guiding Annleigh over to a large, floor-length mirror. “Do you know what I see? I see a strong, confident, beautiful young woman.” She smiled, then pointed at their reflections. “Oh, look, you’re there too.” 

“Oh.” Annleigh blinked.

Riley laughed. “I’m just teasing, darling. Stop taking everything so seriously.”

“Okay, so...” Annleigh cleared her throat. “Mother, I was thinking that tomorrow-“

“Flower, mother’s feeling a little run down right now.” Riley sighed. “Would you sing for me? Then we’ll talk.”

“Oh!” Annleigh nodded. “Of course, mother.”

She directed her mother to sit down in a chair, which Riley did. Annleigh sat down cross-legged in front of her, just as she’d done when she was a child. Then, she began to sing her special song- albeit a little rushed.

“ _Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the fate’s design, save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine_.”

As she sang, her hair began to glow a beautiful golden color. She didn’t know why it did that- it had been happening ever since she was born. When the song faded from her lips, so did the glow from her hair. 

“Annleigh!” Riley seemed slightly shaken- maybe it was because of how fast she’d been singing. 

“So, mother!” Annleigh turned around to face her mother, smiling. “Earlier I was saying tomorrow’s a pretty big day, and you didn’t really respond. So I’m just going to tell you. Tomorrow is my birthday!” She waved her hands slightly for the effect. “Ta-da!” 

Riley raised an eyebrow, then shook her head. “No, no. I distinctly remember. Your birthday was last year.”

“That’s the funny thing about birthdays...” Annleigh laughed. “They’re kind of an annual thing.” She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time for jokes. “Mother, I’m turning eighteen. Many societies consider that the age when one becomes a legal adult. And if I’m going to become an adult tomorrow, I wanted to ask for what I want- what I _really_ want -for my birthday this year.” She began to mumble, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. “Actually, what I’ve wanted for... quite a few birthdays now...”

“Annleigh, please stop with the mumbling.” Riley said, crossing her arms. “You know how I feel about the mumbling.” She moved her hand around as if to imitate talking, putting on a high-pitched mumbling voice. “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It’s very annoying.” She laughed, running her fingers through Annleigh’s hair. “I’m just teasing, you’re adorable. I love you so much, darling.”

“Mother, I...” Annleigh took a deep breath before blurting out. “I want to see the floating lights.”

Riley blinked. “What?”

“Well, I was hoping you could take me to see the floating lights this year.” Annleigh said.

“The floating...?” Riley suddenly nodded, as if she’d just answered her own question. “Ah. You mean the stars.”

“That’s the thing!” Annleigh gestured up at the ceiling of the tower, where she had painted a chart of constellations in the night sky. “I’ve charted stars, and they’re always constant. But these? They appear every year on my birthday. _Only_ on my birthday. And I can’t help but feel like they’re... like they’re meant for me.” She looked back at her mother with pleading eyes. “I need to see them, mother. And not just from my window- in person. I have to know what they are.”

“You want to go _outside_?” Riley raised both eyebrows. “Oh, Annleigh, really? Look at you.” She directed Annleigh to look at her own reflection in the full-length mirror. “You’re fragile, darling. You know why we stay here in this tower-“

“I know, but-“

Riley cut Annleigh off, running her fingers through Annleigh’s hair again. “That’s right. To keep you safe and sound, my dear. I know you’re getting older dear, and you want to explore and see the world, but you can’t. Not yet.”

“But-“

“Shh.” Riley put a finger to Annleigh’s lips, silencing her. “Trust me, my flower. Mother knows best.”

“I-“

“The world is a dangerous place, Annleigh.” Riley said. “It’s full of hazards. Poisonous plants that can suck the life out of you with just one touch. Quicksand that can suffocate you if you step in the wrong spot. Snakes that wrap around you and squeeze the life out of you. Diseases that make you break out in bleeding welts. And that’s just the things in nature. There’s also humans. Ruffians. Thugs. Murderers. Cannibals! People who would quite literally chew you up and spit you out if they got the chance. And you’re so young, innocent... naive. You wouldn’t survive a day out in the world, pet.”

“Is it really _that_ bad?” Annleigh looked cautiously out the window.

“Oh, it’s worse than that.” Riley sighed. “I’m just telling you the lesser things. I don’t want to give you nightmares, my dear. But if you still want to go, well, then, I guess you can go. After all, I’m only your mother. What do I know?”

“I...” Annleigh’s voice was shaking. Her mother _had_ seen more of the world than her... wouldn’t she know more than Annleigh?

“But if you stay here, I’ll always protect you, my flower.” Riley enveloped Annleigh in a hug. “All I have is one request. Don’t ever ask to leave this tower again.”

Annleigh sighed and nodded. “Yes, mother.”

“That’s a good girl.” Riley kissed Annleigh on the top of her head. “I love you very much, dear.”

Annleigh smiled slightly. “I love you more.” 

“I love you most.” Riley grabbed a basket and moved towards the window, gesturing for Annleigh to lower her down, which Annleigh did. As soon as Riley reached the bottom, she looked up and waved to her daughter. “I’ll see you in a bit, my flower!”

“I’ll be here.” Annleigh waved goodbye to her mother, then sighed. “Where I always am.”


End file.
